Contents

Over two dozen stories and vignettes: The are stories from Barnabas' childhood... Incidents from the Revolutionary War... Ben Stokes' past... Jeremiah's marriage to Laura... An encounter between Miranda du Val and Nicholas Blair in hell - an encounter that leads to her life as Angelique... Josette and Angelique's journey to Collinsport... Many stories take new or alternate looks at the events of 1795... The volume concludes with several vignettes detailing the memories of the few survivors of that tragic year.

1777: Blood Brother by Jean Graham ........... 8 ("Blood Brother", "Foreshadowed", "The Forsaken" and "Lost Chapter": A 'tetralogy' by Jean Graham. Spanning the years between the Revolutionary War and 1795, these four stories delve deeply the background of Barnabas and Jeremiah Collins. Friends as close as brothers, they ended as cold driven opponents in a forced duel of honor. But the rift created by Angelique was by no means the first that separated them, and the four stories in this sequence set a more complicated stage for the tragedies of 1795.) (reprinted in A Gathering of Shadows)

1779: Absalom by Geoffrey Hamell............ 11 (Suppose there had been a third child of Joshua and Naomi Collins, an elder brother to Barnabas, who joined the upheaval of the American Revolution? This story reveals how two branches of the Collins family were united, and brings Barnabas and his father into an uneasy truce.)

1780: Hell Wind by Marcy Robin....... . ....... 19 (During the devastation of a hurricane on Martinque, two events—a death, and a first meeting—sow the seeds that would change Josette's life forever.)

The Devil Need Not Own You by Kathy. Resch....129 (The seeds of the present are rooted in the past... In the 17th century, Miranda DuVal swore undenying revenge for the murder of her lover... adding another link in the chain binding Angelique and Barnabas through the centuries.)

Beyond: Choice by Ernie Terwilliger .......... 164 (Like pawns in a deadly chess game, Angelique and Barnabas lived and died in the tragic sequence of events that took place in the winter of 1795. But when was this game first begun? And who were the original players? A story of true and undying l ove …)

Andrea Palencar

Jane Lach

Cindy M. Jorgensen

Jane Lach

Barbara Fister-Liltz

Jo Ann Christy

Judith Boguslawski

Judith Boguslawski

Shari Metcalf

Barbara Fister-Liltz

Cindy M. Jorgensen

Reactions and Reviews

DECADES: 1760-1800 is a rather difficult zine to review. It offers gorgeous visuals; generally excellent layout, typing, and typeface; and an attractive beige-brown color paper. With ten stories (the longest of which is twelve pages), 27 short-shorts or vignettes, 16 poems, 3 songs, 5 art portfolios, and over 73 pages of art, the prospect of reviewing all of this is somewhat overwhelming. Overall, there are some truly excellent offerings here, and it's often difficult to understand why some of these writers aren't doing pro work. The same for the artists. The period covered here involves the early Collinses, and the reader often gets a strikingly intelligent glimpse of history, particularly the American Revolution, which figures prominently in the first batch of stories. The problem with writing fiction in the past, however, is that the writer has to take care to capture the tone and quality of the era's speech and manners, especially the former. Some of the writers succeed here; others fail, to the point of embarrassment. Many of the prose pieces could easily have been expanded into fine, engrossing stories. A lot of the short-shorts and vignettes are mere wasted, sentimental fluff. Some of the the more memorable prose pieces include "Absalom," by Geoffrey Hamell, about Barnabas' older brother fighting on the rebel side of the Revolution, against the family's wishes; "Empty Future," by Marcy Robin, an all-too-short, tragic story about the ever-somber Ben Stokes, who returned from fighting in the War for Independence only to be imprisoned for 15 years for stealing a potato; "The Devil Need Not Own You," by [Kathy Resch] (whom I consider to be one of the best fan writers and poets in all of media fandom), a brilliantly powerful story about Angelique's past and the events that caused her to make a pact with Satan and thereby become a witch; and "Choices," by Ernie Terwilliger, the longest piece, with a fascinating twist involving Angelique and Barnabas as true, eternal lovers (I can't give away too much about it). Then there are the short-shorts or vignettes, the best of which are "The Door Stands Open," by Geoffrey Hamell, wherein Angelique has a meeting with her demon master; "Foreshadowed," by Jean Graham, an excellent character piece in which Barnabas and Jeremiah, his uncle, have a painful confrontation; "Babylon," by [Kathy Resch], an exquisite tour-de-force about the fanatical Reverend Trask and his sick mind vis-a-vis sex and women; and "Jezebel," by Geoffrey Hamell, a fine, potent glimpse into Trask's cruel and destructive nature. There are many other extremely fine pieces here. As for the poetry, the most memorable are "Choice," by Barbara Fister-Liltz, a finely lyrical piece that compares Angelique's attributes with Josette's failings from Barnabas' point of view; and "Turn the Earth," by [Kathy Resch], about Josette's funeral, with wonderful language imagery: "The Countess turns her gaze beyond new stones, iron grating, obscuring trees, past the land beyond, secure and firm, leading, deceiving to the end." Excellent, varied art is strewn throughout. Barbara Fister-LEtz has a "stunning, explosive portfolio of various characters. Judi Boguslawski's haunting, expressive, smooth style serves to illustrate stories completely, and her portfolio is quite evocative of the series' atmosphere. Cindy Jorgensen's uneven, fairy-tale-like art lends a different quality to the characters and events, an intriguing interpretation to horror fantasy. Jane Lach's child-like characters bring a special warmth to them, and Shari Metcalf's rough-hewn, emotional pieces lend a certain eeriness to the subject. I love to see genuinely different, distinctive styles in art, and this zine offers that aplenty. Because of the steep price, I cannot recommend this zine without a qualifier. The art is the best part of the zine. I leave it for the buyer to decide.[1]